Tuesday, 18 June 2024

 Richard RIORDAN (Polwarth) (15:20): I bring to the house’s attention this afternoon the catastrophic effect this government’s attack on property owners and land ownership is having in regional Victoria. In my electorate of Polwarth we have one of the first local government areas to encounter the state government’s windfall gains tax, which is having a terrible impact on a series of small landowners who in the lead-up to last Christmas received bills in excess of $250,000 unexpectedly and unwanted by the people. But worst of all, these people have no capacity to pay that. The government’s solution is that they will do them a favour by allowing them to pay for it over the next 10 years. These landowners have no capacity to realise any value in their land whatsoever. In fact they were undertaking community service by allowing their land to be rezoned for the greater good of the community in the long run but have found themselves out of pocket from this awful and unjust tax.

On top of that of course is the onslaught of land tax bills that have gone out right across regional Victoria to many, many property owners for the first time. In some cases landowners are finding themselves with $2000, $3000, $4000 and $5000 land tax bills, which they will have to pass on to tenants and renters. Low-income people in country towns are now having to pay up to $100 a week extra in tax to help pay for this government’s mistakes and inability to manage money.